In the final October regular meeting Council received a delegation of Doug Heaman in chamber and Todd Walker of Precision Land Solutions via Zoom, to discuss a tile drainage application on behalf of Clearview Acres.
Reeve Canart advised the delegation that council had previous experience in dealing with this type of drainage application.
Walker noted that the municipal deadline for such applications is September 1 for projects planned for this season. He said he has not encountered such a deadline in the western half of the province, and asked council to reconsider the deadline in this case. Clearview Acres would like to proceed this fall.
Reeve Canart replied that applications in the past have usually come in well before the deadline and that “we do have drainage issues that come up and create problems within the municipality and in this particular area.”
Walker then stated that he had been trying to get in touch with the downstream landowner, Paul Bickerton, since August to sign the consent form. When he was contacted Bickerton responded that he had no objection to the drainage but didn’t want to sign anything.
Reeve Canart encouraged Walker to make future applications even in preliminary form so municipal GIS staff can begin to gather the necessary data for the approval.
GIS technician Shaelyn Tanguay suggested that an additional culvert would be recommended where the outlet for the drainage system crosses municipal road 158 to deal with any increased flow.
Walker replied that the culvert needed to be cleaned and needed crushed rock on both sides to prevent erosion, He also suggested a “wait and see idea here” to determine if further culvert capacity would be needed, as the expectation would be for less water to flow out not more.
Walker also requested that council review the policy that requires all underground pipe crossing a municipal road must be put in place by directional drilling, rather than with the plow used for tile installation, saying that it is an unnecessary expense for those wanting to install drainage. He says that agreements made through the company he represents, Precision Land Solutions, include the customer looking after remediation and maintenance of the cut in the road.
CAO Mitchell stated that, due to the high number of cases where oil companies lay pipeline under municipal roads council made the decision to have all these installations done by directional drilling. He said that regarding applications lay pipe under roads “the number of requests we get would floor you so our roads would be all torn to shreds if we allowed just plowing through the roads.”
After discussion council approved the application under the condition that the applicant be responsible for cleaning the existing culvert and adding material to stabilize the inlet and outlet of the culvert to prevent erosion. The applicant would also be responsible for the cost of installing another culvert if the flow exceeded the capacity of the current one.
OTHER BUSINESS
The Elkhorn Early Learning Centre suffered a broken pane in one of their windows. They asked council to consider the possibility that the accident happened as a result of a stone thrown by a municipal mower operating nearby. Council discussed the request and confirmed that one area that had been mowed did have some gravel exposed. A resolution was passed to get a quote for glass replacement.
The Village of Elkhorn composting program had previously been working well. CAO Mitchell said. “It used to be included as part of our Monday pick-up” but he informed council that it had been discontinued because garbage and other debris had been thrown into the pile. Reeve Canart replied, “They ruined it for themselves.”
Regarding the proposed Manitoba Automobile Museum upgrade project, council received a request for a letter of support for a grant application to continue the project. The grant would be required to build the proposed 80 ft. by 250 ft. steel building. As the deadline to file a proposal for the grant was October 31, council passed a motion to provide a letter of support.
The Ward 2 shop access will be 9.1 metres to conform with provincial requirements.
Pigeon, crows and other nuisance birds in Elkhorn will come under fire as council authorized three responsible citizens, Clayton Canart, Stephen Tuthill and Murray Jezzard, to shoot safely within town.
Councillor Rae Kinnaird has fulfilled 16 years of service in municipal politics, initially for the RM of Wallace and then continuously since amalgamation in 2015 for Wallace-Woodworth. This was his final meeting and following his final councillor report he moved adjournment,
